Walls
by grilledjellyfish
Summary: Sam can't rescue everybody, but now she's the one who needs help!


Authors notes:  
  
Has been some time, huh?  
  
Well, but now I'm back and hope you like this one. So how 'bout you send me some feedback??  
  
Pretty please?  
  
Thanks for beating Susan and now I wish my buddies and myself officially the best for our   
  
graduation exams!!!!! Love ya all!!!!!!  
  
/()/()/()/()/()/()/()/()/()/()  
  
The blue crystal was blinking.  
  
But why? It was supposed to stop, like the red and green ones did, not continue.  
  
"Please! Help us!"  
  
The blue crystal was blinking.  
  
She tried to make it stop, her hands working furiously inside the big machine standing just in front  
  
of her. Her brows furrowed as she concentrated on that damn blue crystal that was blinking right  
  
into her face, mocking her with its bright blue colour.  
  
"You have to help us!"  
  
It didnt stop, just kept on shining... blinking inside the dark machine.  
  
Suddenly her lips were dry and a lump started to form in her throat, making it difficult for her to breathe.  
  
And why were her eyes burning with hot tears?  
  
"Oh God please!"  
  
"Im sorry... so sorry..." The rest of the sentence caught in her throat as her voice died away... no  
  
she couldnt cry, not here and not now. They still needed her help and she couldnt let them down.  
  
"Carter!... Weve to get outta here!"  
  
The voice coming through the radio in Sams vest pocket hurt in her ears.  
  
He was right, she knew that, but she couldnt just leave them here, alone in the face of death without having  
  
at least tried one last time.  
  
Sam had to make it stop blinking!  
  
"I wont leave this God damned planet without you! I order you to get your ass over to the gate!  
  
So move it Major!"  
  
ONeill was getting angry, that, Sam could tell, but he didnt understand...  
  
She, Doctor Major Sam Carter, a woman famous for her brilliant ideas and solutions for unsolvable   
  
problems, didnt know how to help these people.  
  
"Mummy, I dont want to die! Mummy, please let me out of the house!"  
  
Sams eyes wandered over to the small girl standing in the doorway of one of the houses in that peaceful village,  
  
begging her mum to allow her to live.  
  
The blue crystal was blinking, the intervals in which the individual flickers would appear decreasing with each   
  
second that passed. There was nothing she could do.  
  
Like in trance, Sam got up from the hard ground, ignoring the instant pain in her knees, she had been  
  
resting on for the last hour and shouldering her P90 carefully.  
  
"Please dont leave us!"  
  
The man, his name was Joseph, pinned her with his dark green eyes, pleading for her to release them.  
  
"Im sorry, I cant... I, I tried, but theres no way I can stop it without the right equipment!"  
  
They had to understand why she had to leave... the Colonel would stay here with her, dying because  
  
she wouldnt stop trying.  
  
"NO, you can do it! You have to help us!"  
  
The mans hands hit the yellow energy wall seperating him and his folk from her and the gate leading to   
  
safety. God, Sam had done anything she could think of, including kicking the device and slamming   
  
her fists against the blinking blue crystal.  
  
But it just wouldnt work!  
  
Sams hand came up to Josephs, whose palm was still resting against the energy wall.  
  
"If you go Samantha Carter, we will haunt you in your dreams... can you see the children and babies?  
  
They will all die because you were not able to prevent it from happening!"  
  
"This is not true, I did..."  
  
"Carter!" The Colonels voice echoed through the radio.  
  
Sams eyes lowered to the blue crystal.  
  
The only thing that was keeping the force shield up, the only thing that held a whole population in   
  
deaths grasp. And she couldnt do anything to stop it.  
  
Now she had to think about the Colonel. She knew he would make his threat come true and stay here with her.  
  
He had to be her only matter of concern now.  
  
"Dont forget my words Major Carter... they will haunt you!"  
  
The tears Sam had been able to prevent from showing spilled down her dirty cheeks, washing away the  
  
sweat and grime and falling to the ground.  
  
Her eyes wandered one final time to the little girl still standing beside her silently crying mother. Her  
  
hand was clutching the shirt, the young woman was wearing.  
  
And then Sam was running, eyes red from the tears. Her brain tried desperately to force the screams of  
  
fear, anger and hatred out of her head, but they followed her no matter how fast she sprinted through  
  
the desert surrounding her.  
  
Her breath was heavy, lungs working hard to get enough oxygen inside her hurting body.  
  
With her eyes still filled with tears, Sam didnt see the figure appearing beside her until a hand   
  
wrapped around her wrist and forced her to increase her pace.  
  
"Dammit Carter! Where the hell have you been?"  
  
He too was breathing heavily.  
  
"Had to gather my things, Sir!" Sam yelled back over the panting.  
  
"The gates in sight! You dial, I send the code!"  
  
The code...   
  
"Where are Daniel and Tealc?"  
  
Her hands worked on the symbols presented on the DHD and then, when shed finished dialing, pressed  
  
the red crystal in the center.  
  
"Already home!"  
  
It glowed... and suddenly her eyes didnt see the shimmering surface of the opening wormhole, but  
  
the blue crystal that was still blinking inside the machine.  
  
Her mind didnt register the words coming from her CO. And even as the Colonel grabbed her by her   
  
arm and led her through the Stargate, Sam saw the blue blinking crystal...  
  
/()/()/()/()/  
  
"So the mission hasn't gone that well, I heard."  
  
Janet Fraiser pulled the penlight she had been holding away from Sams eyes, which immediately   
  
started blinking rapidly in response.  
  
"Yeah, the whole planet got probably destroyed... there was nothing I could have done to prevent it   
  
from happening..."  
  
"Youre right, Sam there was nothing you could have done and I hope you really know this."  
  
A hand appeared on Sams shoulder.  
  
Janet felt the tension of muscles under the black shirt her friend was wearing.  
  
"I´ll better get to the debriefing Janet... see ya."  
  
Brows furrowed in concern, the Doctor watched Sam practically run out of the infirmary.  
  
Something had happened, something that had broken Sam internally.  
  
/()/()/()/()/  
  
"...When we followed the way to the village we found two dead Anubis guards lying beside the path.  
  
We naturally hurried to the houses and came face to face with an energy wall that separated the village  
  
from the desert... . We immediately started working on the device that maintained the wall,  
  
but unfortunately... we were not able to destroy it."  
  
Sam didnt actually listen to Daniels report and instead settled on watching the large SGC emblem   
  
behind the General. Her eyes had long ago lost focus and everything around her was slightly blurred and  
  
indistinct.  
  
"Jack ordered Tealc and me back to the gate... Sam had calculated that the second device, we hadnt  
  
even been able to open, would explode within an hour."  
  
"I see... I assume Major Carter hasnt been able to shut it down?"  
  
At hearing her name being spoken, Sam snapped out of her internal musing and fixed her eyes on the  
  
waiting bald man.  
  
"Regrettably not General, even though I tried to for about an hour before Colonel ONeill called me   
  
back to the gate." Her voice was flat, not showing the emotions hidden deeply within her.  
  
"Do we know why Anubis did this?"  
  
"No, Sir, we were able to find out the exact date he arrived on the planet... that would be about two  
  
days after our first visit." Jacks hands lay folded on the smooth surface of the heavy   
  
wooden table.  
  
"Well send a probe to P9X-353 at 1700. Youre dismissed."  
  
SG1 rose to their full height, waiting until their CO had left the room.  
  
"I think Ill take the showers first Carter, that scent cant be healthy."  
  
Again Sams eyes had wandered to the far right wall where the symbol was being illuminated from a   
  
light shining on it Just as she was about to avert her eyes from it something appeared beside   
  
the emblem...  
  
A girl.  
  
Sam closed her eyes briefly, hoping to clear her mind from the image, but when she opened them again  
  
the little girl was still standing there, watching the Major with cold lifeless eyes.  
  
Taking a step forward, Sam gripped the back of her armchair hard. She couldnt believe this... had to  
  
be the stress...  
  
"Carter?"  
  
The girl had vanished, having seemingly disappeared into thin air.  
  
"Yes, Colonel?"  
  
"You sure youre all right?"  
  
The Major didnt even think about the question.  
  
"Yes... just fine."  
  
They didnt believe a word, that, Sam could tell by the looks on their faces.  
  
"Im going to my lab and start analysing the readings we were able to take on the planet."  
  
And then she was gone, leaving the rest of SG1 standing clueless in the briefing room.  
  
/()/()/()/()/  
  
The lab was dark.  
  
Just what she needed right now, Sam thought as she entered the room and closed the door behind her.  
  
Apart from the rhythmic beeping of machines in the background, the room was silent.  
  
Sighing audibly, Sam shrugged her jacket off and sat down in the chair standing beside her desk.  
  
She hated those days, when you were thinking of nothing and then got your brain blown away with the  
  
worst things that could happen.  
  
All she wanted to do now was bury her face in her pillow and cry.  
  
But crying like a baby on base wouldnt be the best way of keeping everybodys respect and so she  
  
just opened her laptop, waiting for it to boot up.  
  
The light of the monitor cast a soft glow on Sams features, making the lines of anger, concern and grief  
  
visible.  
  
"You killed us..."  
  
Sam swivelled around in her chair, facing the darkness behind her. Her eyes flickered over the various  
  
devices on the walls, but she could see nothing.  
  
Ever so slowly the young woman turned back to her now waiting computer and typed in some codes,  
  
before starting to give in the readings taken on P9X-353.  
  
But the uneasy feeling that had lingered on her mind ever since she had abandoned the defenceless people   
  
on that planet to the bomb, grew with every second. Sam wasnt seeing the screen , all her attention  
  
was focused on the sounds surrounding her.  
  
Nothing.  
  
Again Sam sighed, shaking her head to chase away the disturbing thoughts. Then she turned back to the  
  
waiting computer and let her fingers type in orders and readings.  
  
And though she was obviously working like she had done it after every mission since joining the SGC,   
  
her brain was still trying to find something that wasnt right, something that gave her the creeps and   
  
made her want to run away.  
  
/()/()/()/()/  
  
Tray in his hands, Daniel made his way through the quiet commissary, searching for a familiar face   
  
among the occupants. And he found one.  
  
In the far right corner, hunched over a bowl with muesli, Sam Carter was sitting.  
  
A smile plastered on his lips, the young man strolled over to her and put his tray down on the opposite side   
  
of hers. He then took a nearby chair and with a heavy sigh sat down.  
  
Sam hadnt even looked at him once, not to mention greetied him.  
  
She just leaned over the edge of the table, her elbows resting to either sides of the tray's handles.  
  
"Hey Sam, whatcha doing here all alone?"  
  
It was the first time since Daniel had joined her that he got a reaction from her.  
  
Her head lifted slightly, eyes, that had been cast downwards, met his and her brows furrowed in   
  
confusion. One of her hands wandered to the back of her neck and started rubbing some obviously  
  
sore spot.  
  
Her face transformed momentarily into a grimace of some sort, before turning on a neutral expression.  
  
"Nothing, just got hungry while I was working in the lab and decided to get something to eat."  
  
Daniel nodded in response, not being able to answer verbally with his jaws currently chewing on some   
  
potatoes and salad.  
  
He gulped noisily and motioned with his chin to the untouched bowl of food in front of Sam.  
  
When she followed his motion, Carter suddenly realized that she had indeed not eaten anything from  
  
her meager meal. And that after she had been sitting there for over twenty minutes!  
  
"I uh... was lost in my thoughts, I guess." A small uneasy chuckle escaped her throat.  
  
Daniel stopped eating, concern evident in his blue eyes.  
  
Calmly he put his fork back down on his tray, the metallic sound echoing in the uncomfortable silence   
  
of the room.  
  
"I know that this is especially hard on you Sam, but there was nothing you could have done to prevent it  
  
from happening... not this time."  
  
This had come totally unexpected.  
  
Feeling as if somebody had punched her in the stomach, Sam faced the man opposite her now fully.  
  
She didnt need this right now, none of it. Not their pity or some stupid excuses why she shouldnt feel   
  
so damn guilty.  
  
All she wanted was peace.   
  
"I think I'd better get back to work... dont think Ill eat that any time soon... bye..."  
  
Pushing away from the table, Sam was just about to get up, when a hand appeared from over the tables  
  
surface, gripping her wrist and gaining her attention at once.  
  
"Sam, dont do this to yourself... talk about it, I know what you are thinking and believe me, nothing   
  
of it is true! You did everything possible in your power to free these people. But this time Anubis won.  
  
It wasnt your fault, nothing of it."  
  
Sam watched the hand on her arm for a long moment before averting her gaze from it and facing Daniel.  
  
"Then why cant I get their voices outta my head... their desperate screams for help? And why can I  
  
still see the eyes of that little girl, that was begging her mum to let her go, every time I close my eyes?  
  
Why Daniel?"  
  
The young man could see the tears forming behind the already glassy blue. But he didnt know what to say.  
  
"Because Daniel, somehow it was my fault, albeit not the whole mess, but I could have done more!  
  
Instead I just thought of my own damn life... I could have rescued thousands of innocent people, but I decided  
  
to rescue just one ma..."  
  
Realizing what she had intended to say, Sam turned angrily away from Daniel. She didnt want to go on.  
  
The hand around her wrist disappeared and Sam finally got up from her seat, immediately turning and walking  
  
away from the table, heading to the open door.  
  
/()/()/()/()/  
  
Sam was again sitting in her lab.  
  
She was currently analysing something SG3 had brought back from their last mission.  
  
Again her eyes lost focus and Sam swore soundly as she angrily swept a palm over tired features. She  
  
just couldnt focus on her work today! What the hell was going on with her?  
  
Her eyes closed and a heavy sigh escaped her lips.   
  
"You didnt help us..."  
  
Her eyes snapped wide open and Sam swivelled around on her chair, now facing the far end of her lab.  
  
She had heard a voice, of that Sam was sure, but there could nothing be seen.   
  
She was alone.  
  
The hairs on the back of her neck rose and an involuntary shiver ran down her spine.  
  
Something was going on here, but she couldnt put a finger on it.  
  
Turning back to the microscope, Sam inhaled deeply and flexed her shoulder muscles, trying to work out   
  
the strain. Slowly her fingers reached over the desk to a sheet of paper with important readings.  
  
Her hand grasped the white papers and pulled back, when suddenly something cold brushed her  
  
back, causing goose bumps to appear across her skin.  
  
"All right. Whos there?!"  
  
Her eyes flickered over the various machines on the wall, but there was nobody. She was obviously  
  
alone in here.  
  
"You killed us..."  
  
The whisper came from somewhere to Sams right and she immediately spun around to the  
  
area where she assumed her intruder to be. And she indeed found one...  
  
A little girl was standing just behind the end of Carters desk, her small fingers grasping the edge of it  
  
securely. Sam could even see the knuckles turn white under the increasing pressure.  
  
Eyes wide, the young Major waited for the girl to say something, do something, that would indicate her   
  
that she wasnt hallucinating. That the young girl was real.  
  
"Why didnt you help us?"  
  
The brown eyes started shimmering and a tear ran down the girls cheek, falling on the cold surface  
  
of the desk between the two small hands.   
  
"I tried, but I just didnt manage to shut it down!" Sams own voice was thick.  
  
"You killed us..."  
  
"No! That is not true! It was Anubis and not..."  
  
"But you didnt prevent him from doing it... and therefore you helped him to kill us!"  
  
A hand left the desk and an accusing finger pointed at her. But Sam didnt see the finger, she   
  
looked past it, gazing into the cold glassy eyes. New tears rolled down her pale cheeks and Sam  
  
found her own eyes brimming with tears.  
  
"Im sorry... you have to believe me!"  
  
And then the girl vanished.  
  
In one moment Sam was still facing her and in the next she had disappeared in nothingness.  
  
Sam Carter couldnt hold her grief inside her numb body anymore. Her eyes stayed fixed on the   
  
still present tears of the girl on her desk. She felt her whole body starting to tremble, her   
  
sobs loud in the silent room. The tears cascaded down her face, falling on her lap and soaking her  
  
BDUs with salty water.  
  
"Carter?"  
  
Startled from the sudden exclamation just some feet behind her, Sam stopped crying abruptly. With  
  
one of her sleeves, she tried desperately to conceal the evidence of her momentarily weakness from  
  
her CO.  
  
"Colonel, something I can do for you?" Her voice was still hoarse, but there was nothing she could have   
  
done to hide the fact that she had been crying.  
  
"Uhm..." Jack ONeill felt very uncomfortable with the situation he had found himself in.  
  
"Just wanted to ask whether youd like to grab something to eat with the rest of the gang... but if you   
  
have work to do, I understand Major..."  
  
A bitter smile appeared on her face, which was still turned away from the man standing behind her.  
  
Playing with her fingers, Sam decided to hide for a while longer.   
  
"Ive actually still a report to finish for the General, Sir... but maybe next time."  
  
"Uhm, sure Carter, bye!"  
  
Sam could hear his fast retreating footsteps on the linoleum floor outside in the corridor.  
  
She was alone again.   
  
Slowly her eyes closed and with her whole body she turned in the direction where the little girl   
  
had been standing just some minutes ago. But there was no child...  
  
Just a salty puddle of tears the girl had left behind as a silent reminder.  
  
/()/()/()/()/  
  
Jack wasnt a happy camper.  
  
As he sprinted down the corridors to the infirmary of the SGC, he swore silently under his breath.  
  
Rounding the last corner, he came face to face with Tealc.  
  
"Hey, T, any idea what has happened here?"  
  
"I have none ONeill. I received the emergency call while I was attempting to help Daniel Jackson   
  
move his desk."  
  
Right on cue, Daniel stepped out of the infirmary, closely followed by the SGCs CMO Doc Fraiser.  
  
Not waiting for her to reach the two men, Jack walked up to her, brows furrowed with an annoyed   
  
expression on his face.  
  
"So Doc, what the hell happened that is important enough to pry me away from a steak?"  
  
Janets lips pursed into a thin line. Eyes cast downwards, she pressed the silver coloured   
  
clipboard securely against her chest.   
  
She didnt answer, instead motioned with her hand to the still swinging doors leading to the  
  
infirmary. The three men followed her silently.  
  
As soon as they were inside, something caused goose bumps to form on Daniels arms.  
  
Jack wasnt feeling any better.  
  
Looking nervously around, he let his eyes roam over the various machines standing against the walls.  
  
Something was not right.   
  
And where was his 2IC?  
  
Should she not already be here? She had after all not even left the base and should have been at least   
  
thirty minutes earlier than him.  
  
His suspicions grew and he took an unintentional step forward, catching Janets attention and forcing   
  
her to face him.  
  
"Wheres Carter?"  
  
That got a reaction from both Daniel Jackson and Doc Fraiser.  
  
Why was she looking so damn nervous?  
  
And then realization dawned... . God he had been such a stupid nerd! He had seen her crying and had   
  
thought it would be just fine to let her stay all alone by herself! What a CO did that make him?  
  
"What? Wheres she?"  
  
"About two hours ago, we found her in the womens locker room... she was facing the wall and yelling at   
  
something to stop. But there was nobody in there with her... it was immediately clear that she had been  
  
crying at some point... You all know her, Sam isnt the crying-yelling-type of person when it comes to  
  
stressful situations or missions. But when we found her she was really devastated and I convinced her  
  
to come with me... but no matter how often I asked her about the reasons for her uncommon behaviour  
  
Sam just fell silent."   
  
Jack gazed down at the floor, feeling a lump forming in his throat, he forced back down immediately. Daniel   
  
studied O'Neill's tense stance, his hands on his hips and his chest rising and falling with each strained breath.   
  
"Can we see her Doc?"  
  
"I guess thatll be all right, but as I see it, she wont tell you anything either."  
  
Nodding slowly, Jack, Daniel and Tealc followed Janet into another room.  
  
Five beds were standing in a row against a wall but just one was occupied.   
  
Sam was turned away from her teammates, a white sheet covering her lower body and falling smoothly   
  
over her hips and legs. Her right arm rested on the mattress, functioning as some sort of cushion for   
  
her head.  
  
Janet stepped aside, allowing the three men to enter the room fully.   
  
Then she left silently.  
  
Jack looked nervously around, spotting a chair to his left and getting it before Daniel had even time to  
  
even consider sitting down.  
  
Jack knew he had to take it in his own hands... but for this he had to sit.  
  
Jack placed the chrome chair directly beside the end of the bed where Sams head was lying. Her eyes   
  
were open and Jack could still see red lines around her beautiful blue eyes.  
  
Tealc and Daniel took position behind Sam, watching as Jack leaned forward, resting his elbows  
  
on both knees and folding his hands together.  
  
She wasnt seeing him, ONeill noted when he saw her unfocused and glazed eyes. She was looking  
  
at something behind his shoulder but he didnt care right now.   
  
He had to know the reason why she was crying and doing all that un-Carter-like stuff.  
  
"Hey Major, heard you had a shouting match with the locker room wall... care to tell me who's won?"  
  
He hoped she would follow his lead and respond to his lame jokes.  
  
But she didn't.  
  
Sam just kept on staring over his shoulder.  
  
"Sam, tell us what's going on inside you, please." Carefully, Daniel laid a hand on her shoulder. But   
  
again he got not the slightest reaction from her, not even a muscle tensed under his calming touch.  
  
Sam didn't move, nor did she avert her eyes from the wall behind Jack's shoulder. The only sign that   
  
she was still alive were the rare movements of her eyelids.  
  
"Sam..."  
  
"Can't you see her?"  
  
Jack's eyes found hers, brows furrowed in confusion as he tried to overcome the surprise of her sudden  
  
exclamation. He had just allowed his eyes to wander to Daniel's worried face, when Sam had asked them   
  
something.  
  
Daniel was the first to recover.  
  
"Who? Who's there?"  
  
His eyes followed Sam's line of sight, but all he could see was the monotone grey wall. One of the  
  
machines had cast a long dark shadow across the floor, but otherwise Daniel could find nothing out of   
  
the ordinary.  
  
"I am sorry Sam, but there is nothing..."   
  
Jack watched as Sam's eyes lost focus again and her breathing got more even, signalling him that   
  
she wouldn't start talking again any time soon. She seemed so lost and alone.   
  
He couldn't believe that she was the woman who could kick anybody's ass without blinking once and   
  
could save a whole galaxy in a heartbeat.   
  
But this woman, who was lying on a bed in the infirmary, sedated and apathetic, this woman was not   
  
the one he had come to rely on over the past seven years. Something had happened deeply inside her   
  
and he longed for a solution more than anything else.  
  
Slowly he got up from the uncomfortable chair and walked around the bed, accompanying the other  
  
two men standing behind Sam.  
  
Nodding tiredly, Jack led the way out of the barely illuminated room.  
  
Sam heard the men leaving the room, the light noise of the swinging door echoing in the overwhelming   
  
silence surrounding her.  
  
She was so tired, exhausted of the world and feeling as if everything was breaking down around her.  
  
With her eyes still fixed on the grey wall, Sam felt her eyelids close slowly, shutting out all those  
  
disturbing images and the voice... Her voice.  
  
And the last thing Sam saw before sleep engulfed her, was the little girl standing in front of the   
  
monotone grey wall, the shadow of the machine falling square across her small legs.  
  
/()/()/()/()/  
  
"So, what now?"  
  
Daniel contemplated the question for a second, before giving up and gazing down at his black boots.  
  
He was at a loss of words, not to mention the fact that he had the feeling that his brain was going   
  
to explode soon. His head had started hurting some minutes ago, but still he refused to give up just yet.  
  
"No idea, Colonel... Daniel, what did she mean when she asked you whether you could see 'her'?"  
  
Janet crossed her arms over her chest, the normally present clipboard laying on a nearby chair.  
  
"I don't know, but there has to be something... I mean, why else should she mention it? Maybe there   
  
is some sort of image, a flashback that haunts her or... I don't know, but something made her freak out   
  
and I know her... it has to be something big."  
  
His eyes wandered briefly to Jack, who was sitting just beside him in a plastic chair, with his feet propped   
  
up on Janet's desk. He had gone all silent immediately after they'd left Sam's bed.   
  
Jackson could see it in his eyes, the self-destructing concern and feeling of guilt. Jack was taking the  
  
whole situation extremely personally.   
  
"We'd better contact Dad... he surely wants to know that his daughter has gone all nuts..."  
  
Janet frowned deeply at hearing Jack describe Sam's condition.  
  
"Uhm, yes Jack, I'll send a message to the Tok'ra home world immediately."  
  
The Colonel nodded, obviously lost in his thoughts and got up from the chair, swinging his legs over the   
  
edge of the desk and causing Daniel and Fraiser to jump startled.  
  
After he'd left the office, Janet turned to a slightly confused archaeologist, the concern clearly   
  
evident in her eyes. Daniel started shaking his head in bewilderment before leaving the office too,   
  
closely followed by Teal'c.  
  
/()/()/()/()/  
  
Janet was strolling down the corridor to the infirmary.  
  
She had just given a full report of Sam's condition to the General and Sam's Dad, who had arrived at   
  
the SGC about an hour ago. He was, not that anybody had thought otherwise, shocked and concerned   
  
for his daughter's well being.  
  
Pushing the doors open, Janet entered the room, the smell of disinfectant and the sounds of the various  
  
machines too familiar to her.   
  
Grabbing the clipboard with her friend's name written on it, she made her way down the room to the  
  
part of the infirmary where Sam Carter was lying. Alone and lost.  
  
With her hands currently holding the clipboard and turning through the pages, she had to use her   
  
shoulders to open the swinging doors. Slowly she lifted her gaze from the papers and let her eyes   
  
wander to the bed where her friend had been sleeping the last time she had paid her a visit.  
  
But the bed was empty.  
  
Letting the clipboard fall soundly on the floor and ignoring the loud noise completely, Janet ran over   
  
to the white bed. The sheet, Sam had been using some time ago, was lying crumpled on the mattress.   
  
Bewildered and concerned, Fraiser walked further into the gloomy room. Spotting the cushion Sam had   
  
been resting on, Janet picked it up and held it tightly, while at the same time searching the room for any   
  
signs of her friend.  
  
Sam had disappeared.  
  
Panic rose within the petite Doctor and as fast as possible, she ran over the emergency phone and   
  
called security.  
  
Within seconds MP's swarmed through the infirmary door, weapons raised and the red lasers pointing   
  
in all directions of the room.  
  
"Major Carter is missing, we have to find her! Now!"  
  
Not knowing what else to do, as the soldiers left the room just as fast as they'd entered, Janet walked  
  
out too, totally oblivious to the slightly opened ventilation shaft in the ceiling.  
  
/()/()/()/()/  
  
"What the hell do you mean 'she vanished'?"  
  
Jack's eyes stared angrily at the nervous woman sitting in the chair opposite of him.  
  
"When I entered the infirmary for the visit, Sam was no longer in her bed... the nurse said she didn't   
  
leave the room at all and the security cameras in the first part of the infirmary didn't record any   
  
sign of her... the problem is that she did obviously disable the camera in her room and we were   
  
therefore not able to find out what has exactly happened."  
  
Jack had had enough. Jumping up from his chair he started pacing the room, a hand constantly sweeping  
  
over his strained features. He was muttering something under his breath when Daniel got up too.  
  
"Jack, Sam used the ventilation system to escape and the whole base is already looking for her. Guards  
  
are everywhere and she can't use the elevators or get in any rooms without the right card. We will  
  
find her!"  
  
Spinning around, his eyes boring in Daniel's, he faced the younger man.  
  
"Daniel, maybe you havn't noticed it yet, or forgot it with the rest when you re-ascendet, but Carter  
  
is a fucking genius! Just because she's currently a bit off and not that talkative when it comes to  
  
her feelings doesnt mean she lost her brain along the way!"  
  
Jackson's forehead furrowed and slowly he backed away from the angry man.  
  
He knew Jack was right, but he had to believe that they would find Sam before something would   
  
happen.What could happen, Daniel refused to think about.  
  
He was just about to sit down again, when a young Lieutenant entered the briefing room, standing immediately  
  
at attention.  
  
"General we've found her, but there is a problem..."  
  
Jack didn't need to hear more. Not waiting for the General to dismiss him, the Colonel ran past   
  
the slightly stunned Lieutenant and started sprinting down the long corridor to the elevators. When he   
  
reached the doors he got suddenly aware of the fact that he didn't even know where to go.  
  
Turning impatiently around, he waited until Daniel, Teal'c and the young soldier had caught up with him.  
  
"She's in one of the storage rooms where we repair the MALPs!" He was breathing heavily and   
  
pressed the button to the corresponding floor, stepping aside to allow the male members of SG1  
  
to enter the elevators.  
  
The way up to the storage rooms seemed to last an eternity in Jack's mind.  
  
His eyes stayed fixed on the red numbers over the elevator doors, waiting impatiently for the right   
  
number to appear and the doors to finally open.  
  
"What's she doing there?" It was Daniel, and Jack barely concealed the surprise from hearing  
  
his friend's voice in the silence.  
  
"We don't know... I was monitoring the MALP room, when I suddenly saw her climbing out of  
  
the ventilation shaft... she walked over to the camera and then the screen went black."  
  
Nodding tightly, Jack sighed in relief as the doors finally opened.  
  
He barely waited for them to open fully. Jack just ran through the small gap, not caring that he  
  
was again leaving his friends behind.  
  
Running as fast as possible, he rounded another corner and came face to face with a group of   
  
soldiers, all armed and watching the closed blast doors leading to the MALP room.  
  
"Colonel!" Jack turned around to find a young soldier running down the corridor towards him.  
  
"What's going on here Sergeant?"  
  
Jack took hold of the arm of one of the men who were walking around in the corridor.  
  
"We're currently trying to weld a hole into the blast doors and they should be ready within the  
  
next few minutes ... Im on my way to find Doctor Fraiser in case Major Carter has gone berserk or   
  
and needs to get sedated."  
  
"Jack they're finished here!"  
  
O'Neill turned again into the direction of the working technicians, watching as the last sparks fell   
  
to the floor. Then one of the men got up and braced himself with one hand against the wall beside   
  
the door. With his right boot he kicked against the part of the door where they had been welding a   
  
whole into the material.  
  
The loud noise of heavy metal on cement floor made it clear that they had indeed succeeded.  
  
Striding past some MP's and his friends, Jack followed two armed soldiers inside the large MALP  
  
room.  
  
It was dark inside, except for the area where the light from the corridor entered the room  
  
and illuminated a small part of the room. Jack could see one of the MALPs standing just beside   
  
the wall next to the door, but otherwise there was nothing visibly.  
  
"Carter!"  
  
Nothing...  
  
"Carter! I know you're here! Come on... aren't you a bit too old for hide and seek?"  
  
Again he was rewarded with silence.  
  
"Colonel, here."  
  
A flashlight appeared in front of his eyes and he smiled tightly at the man who'd offered it to him.  
  
He grabbed it and didn't waste a second to switch it on.  
  
Carefully, Jack let the beam of the flashlight wander over the machines stored inside the room, allowing it  
  
to linger for some seconds on the MALPs. He watched a red laser of one weapon passing over a security  
  
camera before continuing with its search.  
  
"Hey Carter, this is a direct order and I will only give it once!" Waiting for a response Jack paused  
  
for a moment.  
  
Again nothing.  
  
"Carter get your ass outta your hiding place!"  
  
"Sorry Colonel, but I have to stop them... "  
  
Jack had to strain his ears in order to hear the whisper. But thanks to the silence that had broken out  
  
as soon as they'd heard her voice, he was able to detect the direction from where it had come from.  
  
Turning slightly to the right, O'Neill switched the flashlight off. Slowly he headed to one of the   
  
MALPs standing beside the wall.  
  
"What do you have to stop Major?" His voice was calm and soothing at the same time. He hoped   
  
that she would answer again, making it possible for him to make out the exact position of his 2IC.  
  
"They're here... but I didn't know what they wanted until she told me, Sir! They... they want to  
  
destroy us!"  
  
Frowning in confusion Jack turned direction again, now heading directly to the MALP.  
  
"Nobody is here, Carter! You're just..."  
  
"Colonel, I warn you... one more step in my direction and I'll blow us all up."  
  
Stopping dead in his tracks Jack switched on the flashlight again.   
  
The beam of light fell on one lonely figure kneeling beside the MALP. Her face was pale and her shoulders  
  
were trembling. Jack let his eyes travel over her small form until he reached her right hand.  
  
Sam was holding a long wire tightly in her grasp. Her hand was shaking from exhaustion, but she kept   
  
on holding it securely.  
  
His eyes found hers, willing her with his deep brown concerned eyes to give up whatever she was  
  
intending on doing.  
  
"Back off and I won't do it Colonel... but there is no other way."  
  
Jack watched as she slowly and obviously with much effort got up from her knees. She was still  
  
holding the wire and even though Jack had no idea what she was capable of doing with it, he   
  
trusted her brain to have come up with a plan to blow them all to hell and back.   
  
"All right... everybody outa here, now!"  
  
Inhaling deeply, Jack took his first steps back to the hole in the blast doors where his friends were   
  
already waiting for him to return.  
  
"Jack, I think we've a problem here."  
  
"No kidding Daniel... which one exactly, you can choose."  
  
Daniel stepped back from the door and waited patiently for Jack to crawl out of the hole and into   
  
the corridor. Finally O'Neill joined them and leaned tiredly against a wall.  
  
"They're not there, Jack."  
  
Seeing the confusion on Jack's face, Daniel continued.  
  
"The inhabitants of P9X-353 are nowhere on the planet... I mean, we sent a UAV through the gate about  
  
an hour ago, but the village that was surrounded from the force field was no even in the slightest   
  
damaged! Everything was just as we' left it, but there were no people, no corpses.. not even  
  
their clothes!"  
  
"What exactly does that mean, Danny?"  
  
Daniel swallowed before looking to the hole.  
  
"I'm not sure yet but what if Sam is right and something 'is' here? This is all sheer speculation, but I   
  
think there is more than meets the eye..."  
  
"Colonel! There is something on the screen, you should take a look at."  
  
Jack watched as the armed MP turned and walked over to one of the monitors the emergency staff  
  
had brought into the corridor after they' found out that Carter had disabled the security cameras.  
  
Now one of the large screens was being rolled in front of SG1 and Doc Fraiser, all waiting expectantly.  
  
"We positioned an infrared camera inside the MALP room and aligned it to the general direction where  
  
we assumed Major Carter to be..." The young man switched the screen on.  
  
For a few seconds there was nothing but blackness, but suddenly a human form appeared out of the  
  
nowhere. The greyish body moved fast from behind one of the MALPs to the other side of the room,   
  
passing something else...  
  
Something that wasn't moving.  
  
"Who the hell is this? Didn't I tell you to get all your men outta that room?"  
  
"That's what 'I' thought at first, but all my men are outside Sir... and there are more then just two   
  
people in there!"  
  
A finger pointed to one corner of the monitor and all eyes turned to the spot where it was showing at   
  
something... or better someone.  
  
"What the fuck is happening here? Daniel, Teal'c, you and I will get in there and drag Carter out   
  
of this ghost train!"  
  
Taking hold of the soldier's MP, Jack shouldered the weapon and headed directly to the hole in the   
  
massive blast doors. From behind him he could hear Daniel and Teal'c following his lead.  
  
"Sir, here, take these... you won't be able to see anything without 'em."  
  
The soldier who'd been showing them the infrared picture some moments ago handed all three men  
  
night vision glasses.  
  
Jack nodded thankfully and put the divice on his head, adjusting it carefully.  
  
O'Neill heard Daniel swearing soundly behind him before a heavy sigh could be heard.  
  
"I really don't wanna know what I look like with that thing on."  
  
Despite the situation Jack had to chuckle.  
  
"I bet you don't!"  
  
With that Jack turned back once more, facing the dark hole. Now that he was wearing the night vision  
  
glasses, everything surrounding him was coloured in grey shades.  
  
Carefully he moved through the hole, eyes immediately searching the area around the doors  
  
for anybody... human or not.   
  
"Jack, I can see someone over there... to your right."  
  
O'Neill let his gaze wander slowly over the various machines, not intending to miss anything.  
  
When he finally reached the point Daniel had meant, he frowned.  
  
There, in the far right corner of the MALP room, was a body, standing solemnly and obviously watching  
  
the three men. The person wasn't moving... just watching them from where it was waiting.  
  
"This isn't Sam..."  
  
"Yeah, I already figured it out, but who the fuck is it then?"  
  
Hesitantly Jack took some steps forward, trying to be as careful and silent as possible.  
  
He didn't want to scare whoever was standing there and sure as hell didn't need this someone to go  
  
all berserk just because he had to rush into an unknown situation.  
  
"O'Neill, there are more people."  
  
Spinning around, Jack found himself surrounded with about seven figures, all unmoving.  
  
From the corner of his eyes he could suddenly see movement and turned in the direction of the   
  
motion to face whatever threat was coming near him and his friends.  
  
It was a girl.  
  
The small body barely reached his belly and he could see her waist-long hair moving eerily from   
  
side to side. Jack tried to make out any sounds of her obviously bare feet, but there was nothing   
  
in the overwhelming silence of the MALP room.  
  
"You helped her?"  
  
Furrowing his brows in confusion, Jack shook his head slightly, making it clear he didn't know what  
  
the girl was talking about.   
  
To his relief Daniel jumped in.  
  
"Whom did he help with what exactly?" The young man was as confused as Jack.  
  
"You helped her to kill us?"  
  
"Huh? Kill you?... I can't actually remember killing anybody... at least not within the last two weeks  
  
or so!"  
  
Through the device attached to his head, Jack could see the body of the little girl turn to one of the  
  
taller ones. A slight movement of the man's head caught Jack's attention and he waited curiously for  
  
something to happen.  
  
"You killed our people... and therefore you have to suffer."  
  
Suddenly a shrill noise echoed through the room.  
  
The three men immediately covered their ears with their hands, trying desperately to prevent it from   
  
entering their senses.  
  
With his eyes tightly shut, Jack sank down on his knees, not being able to stand the piercing noise and  
  
the pain it caused in his head.  
  
And just as he thought he couldn't bear it another second, it stopped. Just as abruptly as it had  
  
started. The silence that followed the sound was overwhelming and intensified the ringing in   
  
his ears.  
  
Carefully he opened his eyes... and frowned.  
  
They were alone.  
  
Daniel and Teal'c got up from the floor and took position beside him, eyes roaming over the inner of the   
  
room and searching for any sign of the figures.  
  
"Jack, what the hell just happen?"  
  
O'Neill turned to his younger friend, making a good impression of a goldfish out of water and shaking  
  
his head in obvious bewilderment.  
  
"They wanted to kill you Sir."  
  
Spinning around to the familiar voice, Jack found his 2IC leaning against a wall behind him. Her arms  
  
were crossed protectively over her chest and even though Jack couldn't see her in colour via the  
  
infrared glasses, he knew he would find her shaken and pale.  
  
"Hey, Carter... how 'bout we get outta here and talk about all this?"  
  
Sam pushed her body away from the wall, slowly walking over to her teammates. Her head was lowered,  
  
so that she was facing the floor. She couldn't see everything, just those parts of the room where the   
  
light from the corridor illuminated it.  
  
"Here, lemme help you."  
  
Having warned her, Jack approached her carefully and took her by her arm. Sam jumped back  
  
in surprise and Jack could feel the muscles tense under his fingers. Automatically his thumb started   
  
rubbing gently over her cold skin, soothing her with the simple gesture.  
  
He could hear her breath evening out and sighed inwardly in relief.  
  
"Daniel, Teal'c get the party outside in the corridor, elsewhere... don't want them to frighten her to death."  
  
Jack rather heard than saw them head to the hole in the door. His attention had settled fully on the Major  
  
and the fact that she had started trembling.  
  
His brows furrowed in concern.  
  
He wanted and needed to know what was happening here and why Carter was behaving like some   
  
madwoman!  
  
They finally reached the hole and Jack was glad to hear Daniel talking quietly with Janet Fraiser just  
  
outside the doors. He couldn't make out the exact words of their hushed conversation, but he knew for   
  
sure that a specialist he trusted was waiting just some feet away from his friend.  
  
"Sam? Hey honey... how are you doing, huh?"   
  
Eyes blinking rapidly against the sudden amount of light outside the MALP room, Sam had to   
  
concentrate hard to identify the two forms in front of her.  
  
"Janet, what are you doing here?"  
  
Jack had been right, Sam was really pale and the fact that she was weak and disorientated made him   
  
worry even more. He didn't let go of her arm, even as Janet began leading her along to the elevators.  
  
And he didn't let go of Sam's arm, even when the petite Doctor glared in his direction.  
  
No, not just yet.  
  
Before he would pull back he had to know exactly and in all details what was going on  
  
with her and the base. And whether they... he could do anything against it.  
  
/()/()/()/()/  
  
"How's she doing Janet?"  
  
Daniel watched Fraiser draw a curtain around Sam's bed.   
  
She looked tired and had dark circles under her eyes, showing just exactly  
  
how exhausted she was. It been some hours since she'd been allowed to rest  
  
for some seconds.  
  
"I honestly don't know. Right now, she's sleeping. I had to give her a mild  
  
sedative, because she just wouldn't stop watching the door. It seemed as if she was waiting for  
  
something to enter the infirmary any second... I am really not sure what to make of this whole thing."  
  
Jack nodded, knowing exactly, if not better, how Janet was feeling right now.  
  
He had seen her, had looked into her frightened blue eyes and had felt her cold trembling hands  
  
in his own.   
  
"We should try and find out what the hell is going on here Jack. I mean we saw them through the  
  
night vision goggles and they're still here, somewhere on base."  
  
"I know Daniel, but one of us should stay here with Carter to make sure nothing is trying to lay a  
  
hand on her."  
  
"I will keep watch, O'Neill."  
  
Teal'c couldn't know how comforting the thought was for Jack, to know that somebody he trusted with  
  
his life was keeping an watchful eye on his 2IC. He may feel better if he was doing it himself, but  
  
somehow Jack thought, that it would seem too obvious.  
  
"Daniel, we'll try to find some hint on the video footage... I doubt they just appeared out of thin  
  
air."  
  
Hesitating for a moment, Jack waited until Teal'c had taken position beside Sam's bed, before he  
  
followed Daniel to the elevators.   
  
He had to find the answer. Even if it meant turning every tiny little grain of dust on base- twice.  
  
/()/()/()/()/  
  
"Teal'c?"  
  
"Major Carter, how are you feeling?"  
  
Sam blinked, trying to clear her slightly blurred vision.  
  
She felt tired. No, she actually felt exhausted to the bones. But she couldn't remember the reason   
  
for her current condition.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"We're not sure about that, Sam..." Janet walked into the room, the clipboard, she seemed to carry with her   
  
around all the time, clasped tightly in her hands,"... it seems something followed SG1 through  
  
the gate and you were the only one who knew it."  
  
The frown on Sam's forehead deepened as she tried to access her memories from the day's events.  
  
She remembered crawling through some tight tunnel and that it had been dark, but the rest was still a blur.  
  
"And what exactly followed us?"  
  
"Daniel assumes, that the inhabitants were somehow able to make their bodies disintegrate or well,  
  
vanish in thin air. What we basically think is, that they're here."  
  
For a long moment, everybody was silent, mulling over the information.   
  
When Janet looked up, she saw Sam close her eyes. Her hand grabbed the sheet that was covering her,  
  
crumpling the smooth material in her fists. It was obvious, that she was in pain and Janet was by her side   
  
in an instant, checking her vitals and giving Sam something against the pain through the IV.  
  
"Sam, where does it hurt?"  
  
"Ears... there are too many voices... ." Her voice died down and her face scrunched up as she tried  
  
to concentrate on anything but the noises in her head.  
  
"Sam, hey! Listen, you have to..."  
  
Janet's voice got swallowed as the sirens started blaring in the corridor.  
  
Mere seconds later, armed MP's entered the infirmary complex, weapons pointing in all directions as the  
  
men took position around the three occupants of the room.   
  
Janet immediately sat down beside Sam's head, ready to defend her patient from any threat. Teal'c  
  
was doing pretty much the same, his body standing like a shield between the entrance and the two women  
  
behind him.  
  
"What is the reason for the alarm?"  
  
"We found evidence that the intruders are on this level. We are not able to see them, so they'll switch  
  
off the light."  
  
Just then, the room drowned in darkness. Not even the security lights illuminated the corridor.  
  
The only visible light source were the little blinking red lights on the goggles the soldiers   
  
were wearing.  
  
"They're here..."  
  
Sam's voice was barely audible and Janet had to strain her ears to catch the words.  
  
"Where?"  
  
She got no answer from the other woman.  
  
Sam had turned her head to the wall opposite the entrance. Though she couldn't see anything in the darkness,  
  
Sam focused her eyes on one spot in the endless blackness... on a little girl with a tear stricken face.  
  
"Argh!"  
  
A loud thud surprised everyone in the room, the red lasers of the P90s aiming at their new target.  
  
A man was lying on the floor, crumpled and lifelessly.  
  
Janet, having heard it, got up from the bed and moved to the motionless body. Blindly, she   
  
searched his neck for a pulse and was shocked to find none. He was dead, but as Janet let her hands  
  
wander over the man's body, she couldn't find any sign that somebody had attacked him. No blood  
  
or open wounds.  
  
It seemed as if he had just dropped dead to the floor.  
  
"Ma'am, please go back to the bed."  
  
The petite woman nodded, knowing that they were not able to see it, but feeling as if a verbal  
  
answer was not appropriate right now.  
  
A large warm hand appeared on her shoulder, pulling her backwards and leading her to the soft mattress  
  
of Sam's infirmary bed where she sat down. Instinctively her hand sought Sam's wrist, glad when she  
  
found a pulse under the tip of her fingers.  
  
"This is Major Wilson... we're under attack. Our current position is the main room of the infirmary  
  
complex... I repeat, we're under attack!"  
  
Teal'c heard the radio crackle to life and listened intently.  
  
"SG2 and 4 are on their way to you... hold your ground!"  
  
A loud sigh followed the message and Teal'c could practically hear the men tightening their grip  
  
on their weapons.  
  
"You killed usss...."  
  
"Come out of your hiding place and put your hands behind your head!"  
  
The tension was palpable and Janet's heart seemed to wander up her throat.  
  
Suddenly Sam's hand gripped her friend's forearm and squeezed. At the same time, her upper body  
  
moved up from where it had been lying motionless on the bed and he sat upright, head still facing  
  
away from the entrance.  
  
"I didn't do anything."  
  
"You killed us."  
  
The simplicity of the statement made Janet gulp in shock. The voice sounded like the one of a  
  
little girl, much like Cassie's in her first years on earth. According to the nearness of the   
  
voice, Janet guessed that the girl had to be somewhere in the back of the infirmary.  
  
"I can see one!"  
  
Janet tensed, her breathing getting faster and her eyes flickered nervously over the dark room.  
  
She couldn't see anything, a fact that didn't contribute much to the already uneasy feeling she had  
  
in the pit of her stomach.  
  
Then, without any warning, the sound of gunfire erupted beside Sam's bed and Janet flinched   
  
back,trying to press herself even further into the pillow.  
  
Another MP started firing bullets into the darkness, shooting seemingly into nothing, but air.  
  
"Hold your fire!"  
  
Major Wilson's voice silenced his teammates and the gunfire ceased immediately to nothingness.  
  
"Where are they?"  
  
"Sir, we have to get outta here!"  
  
"Agreed! Doctor, get your patient, we're to leave ASAP!"  
  
Janet moved without thinking, taking Sam's arm and practically dragged her out of the room,  
  
following the noise the soldiers made as they left the infirmary.  
  
"Major, come in..."  
  
Wilson took the radio and pressed the transmission button.  
  
"Major Wilson here."  
  
"What the hell's going on down there? We can't get down to you... the elevator isn't  
  
working and we can't open the exit shaft to reach ya!"  
  
The Major muttered something under his breath and turned to where Janet and Teal'c were keeping  
  
Sam protected between their bodies.  
  
The young woman was still in the thin hospital gown and through his night vision glasses he could  
  
see her trembling violently. She was obviously in shock.  
  
"We're going to try to find a way to another level, but I'm not su..."  
  
His strong voice stopped mid-sentence and when Janet lifted her gaze to see what had happened,   
  
all she could make out was the small red light of his goggles dropping to the floor, where it  
  
lay motionless.  
  
"Major!"  
  
Another soldier ran up to his CO and knelt down, checking his pulse.  
  
He found none and stepped back from the corpse, the horror of having touched a dead body making  
  
his hands tremble.  
  
Janet on the other hand walked up and took hold of the dead Major's goggles, pulling them off  
  
of his head and putting them on. Immediately, she was able to see. The bodies of the still   
  
living soldiers appeared around her as she turned to look for her friends.  
  
Having found them, she walked back to them and took Sam's arm, her thumb rubbing gently over  
  
the naked flesh and soothing the other woman with the simple gesture. Janet was aware of the  
  
goose bumps on Sam's arm and that she was shaking.  
  
"Janet..."  
  
She nearly jumped at hearing Sam's voice beside her.  
  
"We have to get out of here... they will kill us all."  
  
A shiver ran down her back at the mere thought of getting killed by some invisible thing that  
  
was running through the base to have its revenge for a deed the staff on this base  
  
hadn't committed.  
  
"Sam, where are they?"  
  
"Everywhere..."  
  
A bone-chilling scream pierced the air, followed by a loud thud. Another man was down, leaving  
  
three soldiers, Teal'c, Janet and Sam standing alone in the long corridor.   
  
"Get moving! Go, go, go!"  
  
A young Captain took the lead and started sprinting down the hallway towards the elevators.  
  
Behind him he could hear the boots of the his comrades running over the linoleum floor. And   
  
suddenly when a body emerged out of the concrete ground and a cold shiver ran up his leg and   
  
straight into his chest, he realized that they were running out of time.  
  
Teal'c watched the young Captain fall boneless to the ground, his P90 clattering against the wall.  
  
Slowly, carefully avoiding the area around the dead man, Teal'c walked up to the weapon and picked  
  
it up. At least he had something in his hands, though he doubted it had any affects on the ghosts.  
  
"Major Wilson, come in."  
  
"Captain Clifford here, Major Wilson is dead."  
  
For a long moment, nothing happened and the corridor was bathed in silence.  
  
"Sergeant Siler has been able to get the elevator working, I recommend you get the hell outta   
  
there and up to level 21."  
  
"Roger that, wish us luck."  
  
"Consider it done."  
  
Once again it was silent, ears straining to catch the slightest hint that something was anywhere  
  
near them. To their relief, nothing could be heard, except for the uneven breathing of Sam Carter.  
  
Captain Clifford started walking again in the direction where the elevators where, their only  
  
chance of leaving this corridor and reaching safety before the creatures had time to kill them   
  
all.  
  
Through the night vision glasses they saw the dark corridors in a grey dull light and every time   
  
Janet looked beside her, she could see her friends in a bright glowing red.  
  
"Hold on, Sam, we're nearly there."  
  
To emphasize her statement, the Doctor gave the cold limb she was holding a gentle squeeze.  
  
"Watch out!"  
  
Sam's voice echoed through the silence, gaining everybody's attention at once. Clifford turned back  
  
to where she was standing and took some steps in her direction.  
  
Just then, another body seemingly grew out of the floor, hands reaching into the darkness where  
  
the Captain had been standing just mere seconds ago.  
  
"Shit!"  
  
Eyes wide in horror, he took the Zat out of its holster and aimed it at the body that was by now  
  
standing directly in front of him. The weapon discharged with a sizzle and the blue bolt  
  
illuminated the hallway for a fraction of a second.  
  
Janet watched with interest the ghost's body fall to its knees, hands pressing against the sides   
  
of its head in obvious pain. And then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, the body vanished into   
  
nothingness.  
  
"Zats? That's all?"  
  
"It's the noise... they can't bear the higher frequencies."  
  
"Sam, are you sure?"  
  
She just nodded, lips suddenly to heavy to open.  
  
"Gimme the radio... Hey! Anybody out there?"  
  
"Doc? Is that you? Where the hell are you and why are you still down there?"  
  
"Colonel, listen carefully... we've found a way to make 'em leave. You've to use your Zats! They  
  
have some problem with the noise they make!"  
  
"Copy that."  
  
"Doctor Fraiser, we have to leave now. Major Carter is not feeling well."  
  
Janet turned to where Teal'c was standing, his arms around Sam's body the only thing that was keeping   
  
her upright.   
  
"Colonel O'Neill, we're on our way and need an emergency team... Major Carter is in a bad condition."  
  
/()/()/()/()/  
  
"... Major Carter is in a bad condition."  
  
Jack's hand gripped the radio more tightly, knuckles turning white at hearing the news. Of course he  
  
had known that Sam had some major problems, but nobody had a clue about the reasons and that her  
  
condition was getting worse was not a good sign.  
  
"We're prepared Doc, just get her up here."  
  
"Yes, Sir."  
  
The radio fell silent.  
  
"Jack, General Hammond just got the news that the ghosts have reached this level."  
  
"Doc Fraiser said we could kill 'em with the Zats, but please don't ask me why... something about   
  
frequencies or something like that." Jack shook his head, eyes shut as he tried to hold his anger.  
  
"'Course! That's why they vanished after Sam had done that stunt with the shrill noise in the MALP room!  
  
I gotta tell the General."  
  
With a frown, Jack watched his friend turn and sprint down the corridor to the General. He was glad he  
  
wasn't forced to leave the elevator right now. Before he could do that, Jack had to be sure the rest of   
  
his team had made it back to safety... though he used the term 'safety' loosely.  
  
Finally, Daniel was out of sight, having rounded a corner and Jack was left alone with his thoughts. As  
  
he turned to the still closed elevator doors, he tensed every single muscle in his body, ready to jump out  
  
of Doc's way as soon as they had arrived on this level.  
  
"Colonel O'Neill, something has just entered the lift and is on its way to this level."  
  
Jack nodded and took some steps back, his hand lifting from beside his hip and aiming the Zat directly at  
  
the metallic doors.  
  
When they finally opened, Jack could hear the soldiers behind him take an equal position, ready to fend off  
  
any kind of ghosts or monsters.  
  
"We need an IV here and thermal blankets!"  
  
Jack had probably never been so relieved to hear Janet's voice bark an order before in his life.  
  
A young Captain walked past him, his head shaking and eyes having seemingly lost focus. Jack knew that  
  
he was in shock and hoped that somebody was taking care of him and his fellow teammates. But right now,  
  
all he was really concerned about was the state of Teal'c and especially his Sam.  
  
He saw her walking out of the elevator, Teal'c and Janet practically dragging her through the doors.   
  
Her face was deathly pale and her whole body shook under the thin garment she was wearing. Jack   
  
noticed that she was frowning and her dull blue eyes flickered nervously over the floor.  
  
"Hey Carter, a bit cold for that dress, huh?"  
  
His way of dealing with the situation, Janet noted. She knew from experience that a Jack O'Neill who was   
  
gnawing on his lower lip, combined with his more than dubious humor was a sign for great concern.   
  
And she also knew that this always happened in cases regarding Sam Carter.  
  
"They're coming."  
  
Jack barely turned in time to see one of the guards, who had been waiting with him for his friends to return, fall  
  
to the ground, eyes wide open as he stared at the wall. But there was nothing.  
  
"Shoot it!"  
  
The MP next to the now dead body, fired his Zat at the wall, hoping to accidentally hit the ghost that had to   
  
be there. And as soon as the blue bolt connected with the greyish wall, Jack could make out the form of   
  
a human being.  
  
It fell to its knees, covering his ears and seemingly crying out in pain.  
  
Then it was gone.  
  
"Jack! They are everywhere!"  
  
Daniel was running down the corridor towards his comrades, a Zat grasped tightly in one of his hands.  
  
"I know, I know... Doc, any idea how to eliminate 'em? You had that idea with the Zats!"  
  
"It has been Sam's idea, dammit! And how in God's name should 'I' know what to do?"  
  
"I'm sorry..."  
  
Everybody's attention was drawn to Sam. She was still standing between Teal'c and Janet, her face white as  
  
a sheet. As Jack tried to look into her eyes, he suddenly noticed that they were focused on something   
  
behind him. Slowly he turned, but he couldn't see anything but empty space.  
  
"Why did you not help us?"  
  
"I tried, but I couldn't disable it."  
  
Jack could hear the anguish and sadness in her voice and had to fight the need to engulf her in his arms. This  
  
woman wasn't even a shadow of Sam's normal self and concerned him more than those ghosts.  
  
"Hello, my name's Daniel Jackson... I, um think we've already met in the storage room."  
  
He waited for some seconds, hoping to get an answer from the ghost, but to his disappointment,   
  
nothing happened.  
  
"I would like to know why you are doing this. We are not the ones who tried to kill you... no, it was   
  
Anubis, a Goa'uld."  
  
"Hey listen, whoever you are! We did nothing! Carter did everything to get you outta that trap, but she   
  
didn't have enough time... she would have sacrificed her damn ass to safe ya and now you're trying   
  
to kill us all!"  
  
Daniel laid a soothing hand on Jack's shoulder, knowing well enough where his temper could lead them   
  
in the end.  
  
But the Colonel ignored his attempts and brushed his hand off angrily.  
  
"You have no fucking right to extinguish everybody's life, just because you need some revenge! And I   
  
gotta tell ya something else... the damn bomb never exploded! Your village is still where it is supposed   
  
to be and the only thing that's missing is you and your buddies! So why don't you just get the Hell off   
  
this planet and back to where your asses belong!"  
  
"She didn't sacrifice everything."  
  
Perplexed, Jack frowned and stared into the empty corridor.  
  
"What 'not anything'?"  
  
Sam saw the little girl lift her right arm, her index finger pointing at one person.  
  
"You."  
  
Jack didn't know what to answer. He just stood there, hoping the girl didn't mean who he thought she meant.  
  
For a very long moment, the whole corridor around him was silent.  
  
Everybody's eyes were fixed on an undefined spot where they all assumed the girl to be.  
  
Suddenly the hallway was bathed in darkness and Daniel's eyes blinked rapidly, trying to adjust to the   
  
total lack of light. Naturally it didn't help a bit and he felt even more unsecure, now that he couldn't even   
  
see his own hand in front of his face.  
  
"Get down!"  
  
The loud male voice pierced the silence.  
  
Jack's eyes immediately turned into the direction where the noise had come from and was relieved to see   
  
red lights of some night vision glasses moving towards them.  
  
"Watch out!"  
  
Teal'c heard the order from the man and didn't waste another second to obey it. His hand gripped Sam's   
  
arm and forced her to follow his lead and get down on the floor. He carefully took her into his arms, ready   
  
to protect her from any threat. All around him, his friends were doing the same.  
  
Next thing he heard was the sizzling noise of a discharging Zat, closely followed by a blue bolt of energy   
  
flying towards them. But before it could reach any of SG1, it connected midway with a small body.  
  
Sam watched with morbid fascination the small body crumple to the floor, the blue energy still engulfing   
  
it in a deathly grasp. For some seconds, the girl was writhing in obvious agony, before it stopped moving   
  
and lay still.  
  
Then she was gone.  
  
"Here Colonel."  
  
Jack felt something being pressed into his open palm and took hold of it. He didn't have to see what he   
  
was holding in order to know that they were night vision glasses.  
  
Without hesitating another second, Jack put them on and got up from the floor, turning to see where his   
  
friends were and whether they were alright.  
  
"Sam?"  
  
Daniel crawled blindly to Sam and Teal's position, hands carefully searching the floor in front of him for   
  
any obstacles.  
  
"Yes, Daniel?"  
  
"What would happen if we, let's say, use the intercom to broadcast this high pitched tone in the whole SGC?  
  
Would it help to kill the ghosts?"  
  
"Yeah, I guess it would."  
  
Daniel smiled and just wanted to answer Sam, when Jack's voice interrupted him.  
  
"Then why are we still sitting here, folks?"  
  
Jack firmly took hold of Daniel's shoulder and helped the other man to get up from the floor. A soldier   
  
who had been part of the rescue team, gave every person in the corridor night vision glasses and helped   
  
Daniel to put his on.  
  
Making sure everybody was standing behind him in one piece, Jack inhaled one last time before starting   
  
to run down the corridor towards the labs. If there was one place where Carter could make their 'plan'   
  
work, then it was her lab.  
  
As he turned the first corner, he suddenly came face to face with three Zats. He stopped dead in his tracks   
  
and held his arms up, showing the soldiers his open palms. Immediately, the weapons were lowered and   
  
the armed men stepped aside to allow the group to pass them without difficulties.  
  
"Colonel O'Neill!"  
  
The General's voice boomed in the overwhelming silence and Jack turned startled towards the direction   
  
of his CO.  
  
"Sir."  
  
"Where the hell have you been and what are you doing?"  
  
"We're off to get rid of the ghost-thingies General. Daniel had some idea that could work and we need to   
  
get to Carter's lab."  
  
"Get moving and don't mess it up, Jack."  
  
Jack nodded and signalled his team to get moving again.  
  
After some meters, Daniel appeared beside him, breathing heavily and obviously having problems to keep   
  
up with the Colonel.  
  
"Jack, do you think that was the reason for their attack?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"That Sam didn't want to sacrifice you... I mean, she might have been able to rescue them after all, if she   
  
hadn't been forced to save you."  
  
Jack refused to reply.  
  
Immediately after he had heard the girl say 'you', he had known that Sam had just abandoned them in   
  
order to get his ass safely back to the SGC. And maybe he had felt and was still feeling special because   
  
of the fact that she had chosen him above a whole folk.  
  
"O'Neill."  
  
Jack was brought out of his internal musing when Teal'c called him.  
  
He realized with surprise that they had already reached their aim without him noticing and had to fight the   
  
need to clear his throat. To his relief, nobody was actually caring and entered Sam's lab shortly after him.  
  
Inside they were greeted by an orchestra of blinking lights. Every machine seemed to have one and Jack   
  
could see every colour shining in his direction.  
  
"Daniel, could you help me" Sam asked.  
  
Daniel didn't even waste a thought about not helping her and walked over to where Sam was standing in   
  
front of her lab desk. She had put on headphones and was listening intently to the sounds she was producing   
  
with the recorder.  
  
"Here."  
  
Sam gave him her headphones and let the tone play again. She watched Daniel through her night vision   
  
glasses bow his head as he concentrated on what he was hearing. After some seconds, he turned   
  
towards her and smiled.  
  
"Yes, sounds like the right tune."  
  
"Alright, kids! DJ Danny is in da house... now listen and don't ya dare and turn off your radio!"  
  
Daniel just shook his head and walked over to the intercom where he pressed the transmission button   
  
and held the recorder against the intercom. Mere seconds later, he could hear the high pitched sound   
  
echoing through the corridors via the loudspeakers.  
  
It was a distasteful noise and Jack scrunched up his face as he listened.  
  
When he turned to his right, where Sam was standing, he saw her sway from side to side, having a hard   
  
time keeping her balance. She was barely holding onto the desk and Jack could hear her breathe heavily.  
  
He was by her side in an instant, his arm going around her to keep her upright.  
  
Sam accepted the help without resistance and leaned into his embrace, glad for the support.  
  
"Um, how long am I supposed to do this?"  
  
Janet thought for a moment, before shrugging and making her way towards Daniel. She patted his shoulder   
  
and walked past him towards the door.  
  
Carfully, she peered out of the lab into the corridor, eyes searching for any signs of one of those ghosts.   
  
To her relief nothing could be seen and she decided that they had won.  
  
"You can stop now... I think they're all dead... or whatever they are now."  
  
Daniel inhaled deeply and let go of the button. Immediately the shrill noise stopped and they corridors   
  
where silent again. Though Daniel's ears where still ringing and he guessed that this would be the case for   
  
a long time.  
  
"Colonel O'Neill, come in."  
  
Jack took the radio out of Teal'c's grasp.  
  
"Yep."  
  
"I don't know how you did it, but the ghosts are apparently all gone."  
  
He smiled slightly at hearing the good news.  
  
"Thought so... General, you thinking we could get the light back?"  
  
"My thoughts, exactly."  
  
Suddenly the lights in the corridor sprang to life, illuminating it in blinding brightness. Daniel squeezed   
  
his eyes tightly shut as he pulled off the night vision glasses. After he had finally managed to get them   
  
off, he suddenly realized that the light was way too bright for his unaccommodated senses and he felt a   
  
headache start to form.  
  
Jack watched as Daniel rubbed his temples and was happy to know that he wasn't the only one with one hell  
  
of a headache.   
  
"Sam, how are you feeling honey?"  
  
Janet made her way over to the still trembling woman and laid a warm hand on her sweaty forehead.  
  
"I'm fine... more or less."  
  
She smiled weakly and started to walk in the direction of the lab door. Her steps were still too wobbly   
  
for Jack's liking and he decided that he couldn't stand her attempts to look strong.  
  
With a swift movement, he brought his hand back around her waist and pulled her against him. At first   
  
he could feel her tense beside him, but after some moment, she visibly relaxed and leaned into his   
  
embrace.  
  
Jack saw the dark circles under her eyes and realized then how exhausted Sam had to be.   
  
Maybe not the physical kind of exhaustion, but the mental kind. The kind where one wanted to burrow in   
  
a deep hole and never come back again.  
  
He knew that kind of exhaustion and understood her unspoken need to lie down and sleep. Her need to   
  
deal with the emotional stress and the events that had caused all this.  
  
"How 'bout I bring ya back to your bed and order Teal'c to throw out anybody who dares to come   
  
anywhere near it, huh?" He squeezed her hand gently, smiling down at her pale features.  
  
Sam already had to strain her ears to hear his voice. She could feel the darkness and silence overwhelm   
  
her tired mind and didn't have enough energy left to fight it anymore.  
  
So instead of answering, she just nodded, eyes closing slowly under heavy lids.  
  
Jack suddenly felt her body go limp beside him and caught her easily in his arms. Carefully he scooped   
  
her up in his arms and holding her tightly against his chest. For a moment he stood still in the doorway   
  
of Sam's lab, watching her breathe deeply through slightly parted lips.  
  
"She's gonna be alright, Colonel."  
  
"I know Doc, just making sure."  
  
He didn't miss the lopsided grin from Daniel and the mischievous glint in Janet's eyes.  
  
Slowly he stepped out into the illuminated corridor. He listened to the noise of people running through the   
  
halls of the base, already working on getting everything back to normal.  
  
Just as he wanted to start walking into the direction of the elevators, he felt the woman in his arms move.   
  
One of Sam's hands came up and gripped the material of Jack's shirt. Immediately her features relaxed and   
  
her breathing became more even.  
  
She had defeated her demons.  
  
"You're safe now."He whispered quietly.  
  
/()/()/()/()/()/  
  
FINIS!!!  
  
I know your tired, but could you please (!!!) feedback me?? 


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